Cink leads after delay

Three days after he was a captain’s pick for the Ryder Cup, Stewart Cink made five birdies on his first 10 holes on soggy Firestone South to lead by one shot over Rod Pampling when the rain-delayed first round of the NEC Invitational at Akron, Ohio, was suspended by darkness on Thursday.

Only 16 players in the 76-man field finished their round, which did not begin until 2:45 p.m.

Pampling was 4 under through 12 holes.

Tiger Woods was 3 under through 17.

Zach Johnson (12 holes) and Carlos Franco (11 holes) also were at 3 under.

Rookie leads Reno-Tahoe Open

Rookie Roland Thatcher shot a 6-under-par 66 to take the early first-round lead at the PGA Tour’s rain-delayed Reno-Tahoe Open at Reno, Nev.

Mark Wiebe shot a 67, and Corey Pavin was in a group of players another shot back at 68.

Rain and lightning delayed play for more than three hours and was expected to keep much of the 132-player field from completing the first round until today at the 7,472-yard Montreux Golf and Country Club.

Moore stays strong at U.S. Amateur

NCAA champion Ryan Moore, from Puyallup, Wash., advanced by rallying in the final five holes to beat Aron Price 1-up, and Danny Green, the oldest player in the field at 47, also moved into the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur at Mamaroneck, N.Y., with a 2-up victory over Spencer Levin.

Moore won his morning match, 6 and 4 over Greg Peterson, from Rochester, Minn.

Moore takes on Jason Hartwick, from Sacramento, Calif., in one of four quarterfinal matches. Hartwick eliminated Tim Hogart, from Northridge, Calif., 3 and 2.

Albers shares lead at Wendy’s

Kristi Albers had a hole-in-one on the 17th and shot a 5-under 67 for a share of the lead with defending champion Hee-Won Han in the rain-delayed opening round of the LPGA Tour’s Wendy’s Championship for Children at Dublin, Ohio.

A violent storm rocked Tartan Fields Golf Club late in the day after half of the 144-player field had completed the first round. After a delay of 1:29, play resumed briefly before a second storm washed out the round.

The remaining 66 players will complete their rounds early today, with the second round set to follow.

LPGA major to change dates

The Kraft Nabisco Championship will be played one week later than usual starting in 2006, preventing the LPGA Tour’s first major from getting lost among other big sporting events. The Nabisco has been played the final weekend in March since 1991.